Thingwall Rd Traffic Calming

FOR

Here we have an argument FOR the proposals. You can read this article and the AGAINST article before casting your vote on our quick survey or leaving a message on our "Your Voice" Forum.

For years, people have complained about the excessive speed of motorists who are cut off from reality in their tin boxes as 30mph often seems painfully slow and as they can see all the way up the road – ‘well 40 isn’t too bad is it!’ Until of course, it all goes horribly wrong!

If I could bring the families of the people who have been killed in Road Traffic Collisions (not to be called ‘accidents’ anymore) to this page, I am sure I would convince people of the need for action. If I could take those families to the driver of every vehicle who propel themselves along Thingwall Road at 40 or even 50mph, then that would probably do the trick.

Alas, that is never going to happen, so in the meantime, I would ask YOU, the reader, to go yourself – to Thingwall Road – as a pedestrian and take in the different perspective as being someone on foot (or a bicycle if you dare!) in the mornings about 8-9am or afternoons about 3.30 – 5pm.

Yes, you may find 7 out of 10 cars driving along at an apparent safe speed, but remember, it only takes one fool for it all to go horribly wrong! I wouldn’t like to get struck by a car/van/bus doing 30mph let alone 40 or 50!!!

That then is why I think, we’ve got to the point where positive action is required. Several people have lost their lives in the last few years. OK, I know some have been due to their own fault, but I keep thinking of that poor elderly Irby couple who had just got off the bus near to Coombe Road just prior to Christmas time. As they crossed Thingwall Road is where it all went horribly wrong – it must have been an horrific experience!

So, if drivers aren’t going to slow down, then we (or at least the Local Authority), will have to take positive action and make them slow down. There are several ways of doing this, I list some below followed by the reason why I believe they won’t suffice:-

Reduced speed limit – well its 30mph now and virtually nobody bothers, so who’s going to pay attention to a 20mph limit? The Police can’t be there all the time, so it’s not really effective. The current ‘20 is plenty’ campaign I think would be more appropriate for the immediate vicinity of Irby Village and our regular ‘rat-runs’ such as Heathbank Rd, Hillview Rd, and so on.

Speed Camera – great! highly effective, highly visible – does the trick…. For about 20 yards! At a time we are supposed to be reducing road-side clutter (signage etc) and the more cynical amongst us will agree its just a revenue generation project anyway – it won’t have the desired effect!

Sleeping Policemen – no not literally (we couldn’t afford it!), you know, I mean those awful bumps they lay right across the carriageway! You have to go over them at 2mph to avoid discomfort, they are believed to cause damage to your car and they are rapidly going out of fashion – why? Because they didn’t work of course.

When I use the term ‘work’, I do mean that it has to work for all road users. That means pedestrians, drivers and cyclists (regardless of whether you pay road tax or not!). That means we have to force the driver to slow down, but we do not need to ruin his/her journey. At the same time, people should be able to cross the road safely regardless of their age or physical ability. It also means those who choose to leave the car at home i.e. cyclists should be able to pass freely.

This is why I would favour the current proposals of speed cushions and build-outs. They are simple yet effective, they do the job they were intended for, they slow down the motorist (which is the objective!) they also facilitate cyclists and motorists do not have to slow down as much as they would for a full size ‘speed hump’. Many if not all of our neighbouring boroughs have them and I drive over them fairly often. I am able to do so at 20 or even 25mph, which is enough. If you have a bad back, then you will quite simply just have to drive a little slower!

The proposed build-outs will help re-enforce the speed restriction and nobody will be able to drive at high speed ever again along Thingwall Road – that WILL save lives!

You can vote FOR the proposals on the ITPAS quick survey!

Click here to read the AGAINST article

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